Work-piece holder for slicing machines



Oct. 14, 1930. H. THOMAS n v1,778,235

WORK PIECE HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES ed Deo. l5, 1925 ngz.

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ATTOQNEY Patented Oct. 14, 1930 Unirse STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY THOMAS, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO U. S. SLICING MACHINE COMPANY, F LA PORTE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA WORK-PIECE HOLDER FOR SLICING MACHINES Application filed December 15, 1925, Serial No. 75,628, and in Great Britain December 22, 1924.

termed last slice holders) for gripping and supporting the material to be sliced.

Supports or holders of the character stated are known in which a number of rods or bars are turnably mounted in a vertical frame if, and have a plurality of lateral prongs capable of being projected forward, by turning the rods or bars, into engagement with the substance to be supported. Generally, the prongs are arranged to be projected forward into their operative positions through slots provided in a plate attached tothe front of the frame, which plate constitutes a bearing surface against which the substance can be placed before the prongs are so projected and gg whilst they still occupy positions in rear of the front surface of the plate.

In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention which has been selected for the purpose of illustration, I provide a work- ;1; niece holder or last slice holder of such construction and arrangement that the bars themselves form a series of flat bearing surfa ces all in the same plane when the prongs are inoperative, the said bearing surfaces e serving in lieu of the usual front plate, which can therefore be dispensed with.

rThe construction and arrangement of said )rong bars is also preferably such that they themselves form a series of flat bearing surfaces all in the same plane when the prongs are operative as well as when they are inoperative. To this end the prong bars may be of angular formation and so arranged that one side or flange of such bar is adapted to form part of a flat surface constituted by a plurality of said sides or flanges arranged all in the same plane when the prongs on said bars are inoperative and another side or flange of said bar is adapted to form part of a flat surface constituted by a plurality of such sides orflanges arranged all in the same plane when the prongs on said bars are operative.

In some cases, if so preferred, the prong bars may be shaped and arranged so as to present, such, a iiat surface simply when the prongs are operative.

Another feature of the invention consists in so mounting the prong bars and arranging the mechanism for operating the same that said part-s can be easily and quickly dismounted for cleaning and other purposes, and also easily and quickly reassembled without requiring any special skill on the part of the operator. The preferred construction of the prong rods or bars makes it perfectly easy properly to reassemble them, an operatjon1 which hitherto required considerable s ril The operating mechanism may be such as described and claimed in the specication of my co-pending patent application Serial No. 75,629, filed December 15, 1925, for Holders or supports for slicing machines. The operating mechanism is such that the prong bars will all be turned simultaneously in the same directionV and in that case the prongs will be arranged on the bars in such manner that they all project the same way, upwards or downwards in the operative position; or adjacent bars may be turned in opposite directions. In the latter case the prongs of adjacent bars will be arranged to project in opposite directions, as heretofore.

Two constructional embodiments of our invention are illustrated, by way of example, on the annexed drawings, whereon:-

Fig. l is an elevation of the back of one form of last slice holder;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view corresponding to Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line l-l in Fig. 1;

l is an elevation of the back of the other constructional embodiment referred to;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view, partly in section, corresponding to Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 in Fig. 4;.

Referring iirst to Figs. l to 3:

The last slice holder therein illustrated comprises a frame having two side members 1 and 2 formed, respectively, with projecting claws 3 and 4l and 5 whereby the last slice holder can be attached to the substance support or table of a slicing machine in the usual manner. The frame also comprises a top said side member;

member 6 having a handle 7 and a number of prong-bars 8 are rotatably mounted in superposed relationship between the side members 1 and 2 of the device. Each prong-bar is of angular formationand one of the sides of the bar is formed, intermediateits ends, witha series of spaced `pointed prongs 9--projecting from said side, and parallel thereto, forwards towards thefront of the last slice holder, see partic'ularlyFigB.

vAs shown on the drawings each prong bar is Lshaped in section consequently presenting two sides or flanges at right anglesgbut, Y of coursethe bars may besolid and shaped so as toV present two flat sides.

Hereafter throughout the specification the reference to side or sides istobe understood as includingflange or flanges in the caseof Lshaped orflikebars. .Y

The' prongs on one prong bar arearranged out of alignment with those of the next ad-l jacent bar, see Fig. 1 Land -recesses 10 are formed in all the verticalsides except that of the upper most bar so that when'said prong-bars are rotated the prongs onone bar will not foul the side of the prong-bar immediately beneath while the clearance between two adjacent bars will be considerably lreduced by this arrangement. A journal, or pin, 11 is vformedat both ends of a'prongbar 8 andthe bearings forthe journals disposed in the side-member 1 ofthe last slice holder frame are formedas circular apertures not open to the frontier` back wall of The bearings for the'j ournals arranged in theside member 2, however,

are slotted, and open out in the back of the f each other. All the toothed segments are, however, in meshvwith the teeth 14 on the rack member 13 and the latter is operated bya lever pivotedfto said member by la. pin 21 and having an elongatedslot 22 in which the pin 16 is engaged. The slot 22 is also formed with a portion 23' wherein thepin 16 engages when the lever 20 is in its normal position in whichthe prongs 9 are inoperative as indi-- cated in 3.

` .In this position of the prongs the vertical sides ofthe Aprong-bars 8 constitute a series of flat bearing surfaces which together' form n a flat` v surface substantially' equal in area to that-of the usual slotted front plate whichV is used inlast slice holders as previously constructedrand which the present construction lof the operating lever.

Vdownwards and as the rack teeth 14 mesh withthe toothed segments 19 the angular ronG-bars will be rotated in unison and their movement be uni-directional, the prongs 9 beingproj ected into said substance to hold the latter iirmly while it is being sliced. lt will bey `,understood that a series ef'at surfaces, against which the substance isheld by the prongs, is thus constitutedV bythe sides on which said prongs are formed, said sides being then all in the saine vertical plane when the. prongs project into the' substance.

, It will be obvious therefore that owing to the angular formation of the bars a 'series of flat surfaces is presented both when the prongs are operative and inoperative. The arrangement of the slot 22 in the operating lever and the enacting pin 16 is such that the prong-bars are at all times locked against Imovement in either direction except by means The slotted or open bearings 12 for` the journals 11 of the prong-bars 8 maire it possible to dismount said bars for cleaning or other purposes very rapidly, as it is only necessary to remove the twopins 15 and 16 and thereafter to remove theV rack member13, whereupon the journals 11 can be withdrawn from saidl bearings and the prong bars removed from the frame and readily replaced. By applying a straight edge to the vertical sides of the prongl bars after the journals 11 are engaged in the bea "ings 12, said vertical sides canL all be arranged in the same plane to form a flat surface before replacingV the rack member 13 and the pins 15 and 16.

In the modified construction illustrated in VFigs. 4 to 6 the arrangement is such that adjacent prong bars 8 are rotated in opposite directions, the prongs 9 en two adjacent bars beingproximate in inoperative position, see

l Fig. 6. In order to cause two adj aoent prong bars to rotate in opposite directions, two rack members 23 and 24 are employed andl the toothed segment 19gon ene prong bar; for

instance, that oiitlie topmost bai-in Fig. 4k

is arranged out of alignment with the toothed segment 19 on the next adjacent bar, so that two separate rows of toothed segments are thus formed. The inner raclr member 23 is slidably arranged on the back of the side member 2 of the 'frame and is formed with elongated slots 25 and 26,4'the outer rack member 24 being slidably arranged on the bacl; of the rack member 23 and the two rack members held against movement away from the side member 2 by means ofV pins 27 and 28 screwed into said side member and pass ISU ioted by means of a pin 3l to t ie V@the case may be.

ing through the slots and Q6 in the inner raclrmember and elongated slots 25 and QG in the outer rack member. The rack memn ber 523V is formed with a set of raclr teeth 29 .I-nieshing with one of the two rows of tooth ed segments 19 and the rack member 2e is also formed with a set of raclr teeth 30 meshing with the other row of toothed segments i9. The operating lever 2O is, in this case, pivouter racl; and is also formed with an elongated slot 923 engaged by the pin 2S whereby, when said lever is operated, the outer rack member is caused to move upwaros or downwards as The inner rack member would, however, remain stationary and in order to cause it to move simultaneously with the outer rack member a toothed pinion 32 is rotatably mounted on a pin 33 screwed into a theside member 2 Yof the last slice holder trame, said pinion being accommodated in an elongated slot 34 in the inner raclr nember While the head of the pin 33 is arranged f, outer raclr member.

member in an elongated r cess 35 in the inside of the rlhe inner raclr member is provided with raclr teeth 3G engaging one sideoi' the pinion 32, the other side of the latter being engaged by teeth 3"? Jormed on the outer raclr member. Thus, as the outer raclr member is moved upwards or downwards, as the case may be, the engagement of the pinion 32 with the two sets ot teeth and 37 causes the inner raclr member to move in the opposite direction to the rack :9J-fl, the adjacent prong bars 8 and prongs 9 thereon also moving in opposite directions. f

fis in the constructional rem'oodiment the invention previously described, the bearings 12 'for the journals ll adjacent the side member 2 of the trame are slotted or one side so that the prong bars 8 ca be readily removed for cleaning or other purposes and the arrangement of the slot 22 in the operating lever 2O and the pin 28 engaged therein is such as to lool; the prong bars 8 lirmly against movement at all times lexcept by means of the operating lever.

The mechanisms described above for op- ,i erating the prong bars 8 in unison are coinprised in my invention described and claimed in the specification relating to my co-pending patent application Serial No. 75,629, tiled December l5, 1925; my present invention beingr fully defined by the claims which follow hereafter. lt will be obvious that I could vary the method of rotating the prong bars Without departing from the present invention.

lt so desired each prong bar may be shape-d so as to present merely a ilat side when the prongs are turned into the inoperative position, or, if desired, merely when turned into the operative position, this is not, however, so advantageous as shaping each bar so as to present two tlat sides, one when the prongs are in the inoperative position and one when the prongs are in the operative posi tion.

Having now fully described my invention what l claim and desire to secure by Letters atent is l. ln a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members respectively carrying impaling means and shiitable to move their impaling means into and out o1 engagement with the work-piece; said members collectively providing a fiat arresting abutment against which the work-piece may be pressed prior to encountering the impaling means and while being impaled.

2. ln a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members respectively carrying impaling means and shiftable to move their impaling means into and out ol' engagement with the worlz-jjiiece; said members collectively providing a. substantially flat arresting abutment against which the work-piece may be pressed, said members having one set ot lat surfaces which are presented to receive the work-niece before the work-piece encounters the impaling means, and another set of surfaces to move into work-piece receiving position simultaneously with the presentation of the impaling means to the work-piece.

3. ln a work-piece holder for slicing machinos, a frame, a plurality of combined abutment and impaling member removably mounted in saio trame, said members each comprising a bar having abutment surfaces disposed at an angle to one another and said impaling means comprising prongs projecting from one o' the abutment surfaces on each bar.

Il. ln a work-piece holder for slicing ina chinos, a trame, a plurality ot combined abutment and impaling members removably mounted in said trame, said members comprising a vertical series of bars mounted to rotate in said frame, each bar having abutment surfaces disposer' fit an angle to one another,

'means for collectively rotating the bars to present diilierent ones oi said abutment surfaces to the work-piece and said impaling means comprising prongs projecting from one ot the abutment surfaces on each bar.

5. In a work-piece holder for slicing machinos, a trame, a plurality ot combined abutment and impaling members removably mounted in said 'ii-ame, said men bers nach comprising` an -shaped bar having an abutment surface on each of its two sides, said impaling means comprising 'n'ongs projecting from one ot the sides ot the. bars, and means for selectively presenting either of the abutment surfaces on each bar to the workpiece.

6. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, .a fra-me, a plurality of combined abutment and impahng members removably mounted Yinsaid frame, saidmembers each comprising an L-shaped bar having an abut- .ment surface on each of its two sides, sai-d impaling means comprising prongs projecting from one of the sides of the bars, and means for selectively presenting either of the abutment vsurfaces oneach bar to theyworkpiece and with all` of the abutment surface thereof and disposed toward the work-piece when said members are moved into one of said positions, .saidl abutment surfaces collectively forming an abutment surface for the work-piece, the area of each of said abutment surfaces presented by each of said members toward the workfpiece being determined by the length and breadth ofV said members.

.8. In a work-,piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of members carrying impaling elements, means for moving said memv bers to position said elements into andy out of operative or Work-piece engaging position, said members each presenting` a continuous abutment surface extending substantially the length of the work-piece holder and disposed toward the work-piece when said members are moved into one of said positions, said abutment surfaces collectively forming an abutment surface for the work-piece, the area of each of said abutment surfacespresented by each of said members toward the workpiece being determined by the length and breadth of said members. Y

9. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members movable into and out of work-piece engaging position, said members when moved into one of said positions collectively providing a iiat abut-ment surface for the workpiece.

10. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members movable linto and out of enoagement with the'worlr-piece, said members when tively forming an abutments'urface for the .Work-piece.

11. In aworlr-piece holder fer slicing maf chines, a plurality of work-piece engaging inenibersmovable into andout of work-piece engaging position, said members whenmoved into one of said positions presenting a series of flat abutment surfaces. y

12. In a. workpiece Vholder for slicingmachines, a plurality of workpiece engaging members movable into and out of engagement with the work-piece, said members presenting a series of substantially flat abutment sur faces when moved into engagement with the work-piece.

13. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members movable into and out of engagement with the work-piece, said'members present'- ing a series of abutment surfaces which colof operative or work-piece'engaging position,

said members presenting a series of continuous abutment surfaces extending substantially the length of the work piece holder and disposed in a plane toward the work-piece when said members are moved to position said elements in operative position.

16. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members respectively carrying impaling means and shiftable to move their impaling means into Vand out of engagement with the work-piece, said members collectively providing a substantially flat arresting abut,- ment against which the work-piece may be pressed, said members-having one set of flat surfaces which are presented to receive the work-piece before ythe work-piece Vencounters the impaling means, and another set of flat surfaces to move into work-piece receiving position simultanenously with the presenta.-

tion of the im alino' means to the workiece.

17. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a plurality of work-piece engaging members respectively carrying impaling means and shiftable to move their impaling Y means into and out of engagement with the workpiece, eachy of said members presenting a continuous substantially flat abutment against which the Work-piece may be pressed prior to encountering the impaling means.

18. In a work-piece holder for slicing machines, a kplurality of work-piece engaging members respectively carrying impaling meansand .shiftable to move their `impaling means into and out of engagement With the Work-piece, each of said members having tWo continuous substantially ilat faces, said faces on each member collectively forming an abutment surface for the Work-piece When said impaling means are moved into engagement With the Work-piece and when said means is moved out of engagement with the Workpiece.

19. A Work-piece holder for slicing machines, a frame, a plurality of combined abutment and impaling members rotatably mounted in said frame, said members comprising a vertical series of bars each having tWo sides disposed substantially at right angles to each other, prongs attached to one of the sides of said bars, said prongs being spaced from and disposed substantially parallel with said last mentioned sides7 said last mentioned sides being disposed in parallel horizontal planes, and said other sides being disposed in the same vertical plane When said prongs are in inoperative position,. and means to rotate said bars to position the sides having the prongs in the same vertical plane.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HENRY THOMAS. 

